The San Jose Mercury News:
Zika Outbreak Worries California Officials As Virus Progresses Across Western Hemisphere
A mosquito-borne virus linked to a rare birth defect in Brazilian newborns has the Americas in its grips and Californians worried about its possible progression to the Golden State. The implications of the Zika virus -- which also has reportedly led to paralysis in some cases -- have caused widespread panic in the Southern Hemisphere since last fall, when cases of microcephaly, abnormal smallness of the head in babies, ballooned in Brazil from 150 in 2014 to 3,900 in the past four months. This week, the World Health Organization predicted the virus would spread to all countries across the Americas except Canada and Chile. (Seipel, 1/27)

The New York Times:
Zika Virus ‘Spreading Explosively’ in Americas, W.H.O. Says
Officials from the World Health Organization said on Thursday that the Zika virus was “spreading explosively” in the Americas and announced that they would convene an emergency meeting on Monday to decide whether to declare a public health emergency. “The level of alarm is extremely high,” said Dr. Margaret Chan, the director general of the W.H.O., in a speech in Geneva. (Tavernise, 1/28)

USA Today:
Experts: USA Must Prepare Now For Zika Virus
U.S. public health officials must prepare now for the inevitable arrival of Zika virus, a mosquito-borne infection that has spread to 22 countries and territories in the Americas and poses particular danger to pregnant women, health experts said. International air travel will help the virus spread quickly, said Lawrence Gostin, director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University in Washington. Zika doesn’t spread from person to person, but a mosquito carrying the virus could hitch a ride on the plane and end up in the USA. An American mosquito could become a carrier of the virus if it bites an infected person who contracted the virus while traveling in an affected country. (Szabo, 1/27)

Capital Public Radio:
What To Know About The Zika Virus
An outbreak of Zika virus in Central and South America has prompted health warnings; the illness is especially dangerous to pregnant women and their unborn children. Though officials say an outbreak is unlikely in the US, there are travel advisories to countries where Zika is spreading. UC Davis Chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Dr. Dean Blumberg, explained this virus and its dangers. (Ruyak, 1/27)

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